Love in the eyes of a child
by Five-0Fanatic
Summary: Danny doesn't believe in the Hawaiin Ghost/Spirit culture but when Steve makes a split second decision in order to save a little girl and things take a turn for the worst and Danny has no choice but to believe if he wants to save either of them.


Steve!" Danny fought as the doctors tried to hold him back "Steve no! Please!" Danny looked on as the doctors worked furiously to try and keep Steve alive and a broken cry ripped from his throat as Steve's body arched from the defibrillator they were using trying to restart his heart.

Danny ripped from the doctors arms and rushed to Steve's side, grabbing Steve's face in his bloody hands, Danny tried to get him to wake up "Steve, babe please. Wake up" Steve's eyes didn't even flutter and Danny saw his own tears fall onto Steve's face "Steve please don't leave me"

Danny heard the monitors beep and the alarm as Steve flatlined for the 3rd time "No!" Danny stroked Steve's face, leaving bloody smears on his cheeks "Steve please don't go" Danny felt more arms envelope him and pull him back as he screamed.

"Sir, I'm sorry but he's gone!" A doctor yelled at Danny as they pulled him back.

Danny looked at the doctors around him, their gloves and scrubs covered in blood and blood on the floor. He looked at Steve's body on the gurney, his shirt cut open, blood trailing down his chest and gauze soaked with blood littering the floor, the alarms and beeps of the machines deafening him. Danny sank to the ground "He can't be gone."

* 1 hour earlier*

Danny and Steve were crouched outside a warehouse window as they listened to their kidnappers and the cries and sobs of the Senators young daughter, Lauren, as she was pushed into the open. Steve risked a peek up and saw a man pointing a gun at her head "Looks like your daddy didn't want to cough up the dough to save you life" The man pushed her down and aimed the gun at her, ready to pull the trigger when Chin and Kono ran up and Chin accidentally kicked an oil drum.

"Who's out there?" The man with the gun yelled and Steve looked again to see them now pointing their guns at the windows "Come out now or we'll kill her!" he yanked Lauren up and in front of him "You have 3 seconds! 3...2..."

Steve shot Danny a panicked look and sprang up "Stop! Don't shoot her!"

The man glanced at Steve then saw the golden badge on his belt "Your Five-0! Who else is with you?"

"No one" Steve walked around to the door, Danny desperately trying to grab his legs, force him to stop, but Steve stepped out of his reach "I swear it's just me" Steve walked inside but he threw one more look at Danny, saw his terrified face and whispered "I love you" before stepping all the way inside.

Steve was immediately apprehended by 2 men and his gun was thrown away as they patted him down and walked him towards the leader, who was still holding Lauren in front of him "How'd you find us?" The man snarled, pressing the muzzle of the gun in the girls cheek.

"You don't need to know that" Steve replied and a foot slammed into the back of his knee, forcing him to fall "All you need to know is I'm here to trade my life for hers" He nodded toward Lauren.

"Why would you do that?" The leader growled, pressing the muzzle further into her cheek causing Lauren to shrink away and sob.

Steve tried to stand up but was forced back down "It's my job to get her home safe. Do we have a deal?"

"So I guess you're the one who told the Senator not to pay? Whatever. Five-0 leader dead is good enough for me" The leader pushed Lauren to the ground "Atleast next time you won't be able to stop us. Take his vest off"

Danny was beginning to panic. If they went in too soon, Lauren would be killed and Steve possibly too. Same result if they went in too late. He didn't know what to do and was frantically thinking over the possibilities as Chin and Kono looked at him with beseeching looks, begging him to do something. It didn't help when he heard the leader yell for them to remove Steve's vest.

Steve was manhandled as they removed his vest and threw it away "Let Lauren go. You have me, leader of Five-0. Let her go"

"Now that wasn't part of the deal" The leader chuckled as Steve's face paled and he looked at Lauren "I never said I'd let her go. I just said I wouldn't kill her, I'd kill you instead"

Danny had heard enough and he couldn't stand it anymore. He motioned to Chin and Kono to move in and Chin busted down the door as Danny and Kono yelled "Five-0! Weapons down!"

"You lied!" The leader snarled "Kill her!" Danny watched in horror as he shot Steve straight in the chest and Steve's body jolted then collapsed on the ground. He saw one of the guards shoot Lauren, before one of Kono's bullet took him down.

Danny shot the leader as he tried to run and Chin only managed to apprehend 1 of the guards and the other had been killed by Kono's shot. Danny ran to Steve's side and shouted for Kono to call an ambulance and attend to Lauren. Danny ripped off his shirt and wadded it up, pressing it into the bullet hole on Steve's chest, causing him to groan.

"It hurts" Steve choked out, between coughing blood and spit.

Danny pressed harder, trying to stop the bleeding "I know babe. I know. Just hang on ok. Kono! Where's the damn ambulance?"

"2 minutes out!" Kono yelled as she pressed her own shirt into the wound on Lauren's chest.

"2 minutes Steve. Okay? Just hang on please" Danny's finger slipped off the shirt when blood seeped through and coated his hand. He saw Steve's eyes flicker and his head lolled to the side "Steve! No stay awake! Don't give up"

Steve's eyes snapped back open and he coughed up more blood "I'm... trying" His breath was becoming shorter and each time it got harder to pull air into his lungs "Danno... I don't know-"

"No! Stop talking! You're gonna live. You are going to live so later when you're healed I can yell at you for being so stupid" Danny said, tears gathering in his eyes "God I can't believe how stupid you are sometimes"

"I wasn't stupid... when I fell in love... with you" Steve rasped out and raised a hand feebly to Danny's on his chest "I love you"

Danny didn't even hear the medics come running up and they worked around him, pulling the shirt away and replacing it with gauze and bandaging and checking his pulse. They picked Steve up, and Danny rose with him, his hands never leaving Steve's. They climbed in the ambulance and it took off. Danny was holding Steve's hand and stroking his hair "Almost there babe... Steve?" Danny noticed his chest was no longer rising and falling, a second later the machines went off "Steve!" Danny saw something move out of the corner of his eye and looked and saw something wispy and transparent. He looked closer and it was Steve. It was almost like a ghost.

"Sir get out of the way! Move!" A medic shoved Danny back and when Danny looked again the ghost was gone and the medics began resuscitating him, his body arching off the gurney as the volts surged through his body. The machine stopped beeping and the line peaked again. Steve was back. For now. They pulled up to the hospital and a team of trauma doctors pulled the gurney out as the medics rattled off all his vitals and everything they had done.

Danny ran numbly beside the cart, not even paying attention to what they were saying, just watching the slow and unsteady rise and fall of Steve's chest. They arrived at a trauma room where a doctor pulled Steve's hand from Danny's and shoved him outside the room "You have to stay out here sir! We're going to try and help but we can't with you in the way. Stay here" The door was shut in Danny's face so he moved to the window watching as the gloved hands worked furiously.

Danny wanted to stay but he couldn't bear it anymore and he tore himself away from the window, leaving bloody prints on the glass. Before he left though, he swore he saw the same spirit hovering in the room though. Did that mean Steve was dying? Was Steve's spirit leaving his body? Was he losing Steve?

Danny eventually found Kono in a scrub top, and figured it might be a good idea to get one for himself considering his undershirt was soaked in blood. Steve's blood. The thought made Danny want to puke and he almost did. Kono's hand steadying him was the only thing that stopped him.

"How's Lauren?" Danny asked, he remembered that she'd been shot the same time Steve had been.

Kono's face was grim and blood covered her hands too "I don't know. It was pretty bad. They're working on her now"

Danny nodded "Has the Senator been alerted?"

"Yeah. Chin called HPD and they're escorting the Senator here now" Kono replied then hesitated before asking "How's Steve?"

"Same as Lauren. He... flatlined in the ambulance." Danny answered her and then considered asking about the spirit he saw earlier "Kono... your native. Do uh... you know what, never mind"

Kono looked at him curiously "What Danny? What is it?"

Danny sighed "Have you ever seen a loved ones spirit? Like I mean if they die or something"

"You mean like an Akua?" Kono asked, wondering what Danny was getting at. When Danny shrugged she continued "An Akua is like a spirit or ghost"

"Then yeah. An Akua" Danny said "Where do they come from? What do they mean?"

"Well it all depends. Sometimes they are here to help, others to hurt" Kono explained "We mostly see them when someone we love is in trouble or something is threatening our life. And only certain people, like other loved ones or even random strangers can see them. Why?"

Danny almost collapsed in the hallway, using the wall to support himself. That meant Steve was dying. If he could see Steve's Akua, then Steve was dying. Danny's knees gave out and he fell to the floor, Kono right beside him "Danny! Danny are you okay?"

"Steve. He's dying" Danny whispered and Kono had to lean forward because she couldn't her him "I saw it Kono. Steve's Akua. He's dying. I have to get back to him!" Kono helped him to his feet and just then a young woman came running around the corner.

"Detective Williams, you need to come now! Your partner flatlined again" The young woman shouted urgently, beckoning for them to follow. They ran after her and as they got to the room, Danny saw Steve's body convulse and he tried to get through the crowd of doctors.

*present*

"No please. Help him! Do something! Bring him back!" Danny yelled and he looked around frantically as the doctors hands dropped to their sides. He saw Chin and Kono standing by the door, tears streaming down Kono's face, Chin said something to her and she sobbed into his shoulder. Chin shook his head at Danny and Danny knew Lauren hadn't made it.

Danny looked at his hands, covered in dry, tacky blood. 2 people dead and no one to pin the deaths on except one guard and that wouldn't even matter. The organization would just regroup and go after another politician. Steve was dead, Lauren was dead and they'd failed. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Danny shuddered and cried on the cold tile floor, glancing at Steve's body, cursing him for leaving, Danny looked around for Steve's Akua but didn't see anything and just sunk his head into his hands.

"Who are you?" A young girls voice asked, trembling and afraid "Why am I here?"

Danny looked up and saw a different Akua, Lauren's Akua "Lauren?" Danny whispered "Lauren, honey, I'm Danny. I'm so so sorry"

Lauren turned her head, green eyes piercing Danny "Sorry for what?"

"Your dead sweetheart. I'm sorry. We tried to save you" Danny replied gently and noticed Kono and Chin giving him weird looks "You guys can't see her?"

"See who Danny?" Chin asked, looking around worriedly.

"Lauren. She's right there" Danny pointed to her Akua and she waved.

Chin exchanged a look with Kono "no brah we don't see anyone"

Danny dismissed them and went back to Lauren "He tried to save you" he nodded towards Steve still body.

Lauren's eyes lit up in pain and she winced a little "I remember. They shot me. He tried to save me. But they shot him" She closed her eyes and when she opened them they blazed green "It's my fault"

Danny's heart had already ripped in two and he couldn't stand to see the little girl upset "No honey. Steve knew what he was doing. He would do it again in a heartbeat"

"I know." Lauren brightened up "I like him. He's nice" Danny saw something shimmer beside her and someone grabbed her hand. It was Steve. He let out a strangled cry.

"Danno" Steve smiled at him as he held Lauren's hand.

"Steve... I'm so sorry. I should have come in sooner. I'm so-" Danny stopped when Steve held up a hand.

"Shh." Steve began to cry "I know Danny. I'm sorry too. I love you. Don't forget me please. Tell Gracie I love her too"

"I will" Danny promised but cried out when Steve faded away "Steve! No don't go please. Don't leave me"

Danny felt a little hand on his shoulder and it was Lauren "You love him a lot huh?"

"Yes I do. I always will" Danny replied and let the tears fall freely "What do I tell Grace?" Danny whispered to himself, sobbing.

"Grace is your little girl?" Lauren asked and Danny nodded "She's lucky she has you and him. You love him a lot a lot?" Lauren asked just to make sure.

Danny smiled sadly at her little girl speak "Yes. A lot a lot"

Lauren looked at him and placed her little hand under his chin, lifting his face "Always remember that kay?"  
Danny went to ask her what she meant but she skipped towards the bed and laid her little hand in Steve's big one and curled her fingers around it "Tell him everyday. And tell him thank you. Even though I didn't make it, he tried and he deserves to go home to a family. My daddy will miss me but he understands. Bye Danny" Lauren waved and her Akua faded, leaving Danny alone once again.

"Danny... What's going on?" Chin knelt down in front of Danny.

"Lauren was here. Or her spirit was and Steve's for a little bit" Danny shook his head and looked at Steve's body again "She said to tell him-" Danny stopped as he heard the steady stream of alarm break and beep once. He looked up and saw the heart monitor peak, just the tiniest peak before it peaked again bigger this time.

A doctor rushed back in and looked at the machine. The peaks were constant now but slow and erratic "That can't be" The doctor whispered.

Danny scrambled up and to Steve's side. He grabbed Steve's hand and squeezed it "Steve... Please come back to me"

The doctor began removing the blood sodden gauze and adding fresh gauze "Get some O blood in here now! We need a transfusion and an OR now!"

"Steve, listen to me. Come back to me. Open your eyes, squeeze my hand, do something please" Danny begged and he sucked in a shaky breath when Steve's eyes fluttered then finally opened. Danny saw them flash green for just a second before returning to their normal hazel color "Danno" Steve was barely audible but Danny heard it.

"Come on people! Let's get him to the OR!" The doctor yelled. Danny released Steve's hand reluctantly and watched as he was pushed to the OR and he was ushered to a room with Chin and Kono.

Kono and Chin watched as Danny sank into a chair and fell asleep. Who had he been talking to that entire time? Was it really an Akua? How did Steve's heart restart? Exactly what just happened? They didn't want to bother Danny now especially after everything that just happened so they let him sleep and an orderly rolled two cots in for them. They gladly accepted and were asleep before their heads hit the pillow.

"Danny, wake up. Steve needs you now" Lauren whispered in Danny's dream "Remember he needs you as much as you need him. Wake up"

Danny jerked awake and looked around for Lauren's Akua "Lauren?" he whispered and saw Chin stir but he didn't wake up. He looked to the left and saw Steve was back in the room. He was breathing on his own, but it was slow an uneven. Danny looked at the bandage and saw the stitches peaking out in neat line on Steve's chest where had cut him open to repair the damage and gently ran his fingers over the bandage "I'm here Steve. I'm here and I'm not leaving"

In his own dream, Steve was tossing and turning desperately fighting the pain that was blossoming in his chest "I'm sorry Danny. I'm so sorry but it hurts too much, I can't do it"

"Steve?" Lauren asked as she watched him thrashing "Steve you can't leave him"

"Lauren" Steve's eyes snapped over to her and he teared up "I'm so sorry. I was supposed to save you"

Lauren took his hand "It's ok. I understand. My daddy will too with time" Lauren looked back sadly as her father cried in the hospital waiting room "It's ok. But you can't leave him. He won't survive without you... Go back to him" She let go of his hand and Steve's dream ended and he woke up, sucking in air then crying out.

Steve cried out in pain, when he tried to breathe in and in his chest was a dull throb but when his vision cleared he noticed an IV in his arm and attributed the lessened pain to that "Danny" Steve rasped out, wincing when his throat burned.

"Steve?" Danny's blues eyes appeared from the bedside and stared at Steve "Steve... Are you alive? Is this another dream? Is Lauren here?"

Steve looked at Danny's red, puffy face and shook his head slightly "No. But she was. She helped me come back"

"I know babe. I know. I was there" Danny wrapped his fingers around Steve's hand "I saw it all"

"You did?" Steve's eyes widened in disbelief "I know she's dead. What did she tell you?"

"She said to tell you everyday that I love you and to tell you thank you" Danny repeated Lauren's earlier words "Thank you for trying to save her"

"Trying... I failed" Steve turned his head away letting the tears flow "She was so young Danny, she didn't deserve to die like that"

"It's ok Steve. She knows. She understands" Danny squeezed his hand lightly "She understands what she did when she brought you back. I owe her everything" Danny jumped when there was a hand laid on his shoulder but when he turned he didn't see anything. A faint whisper carried across the room and he was pretty sure he was the only one who heard it

"You owe me nothing."

"What is it Danny?" Steve asked turning back towards him.

Danny just smiled "Nothing. Rest babe, sleep. I'll be right here." he pressed a kiss to Steve's temple and they both fell sleep, still holding hands. Lauren watched from above as her saviors slept peacefully. She smiled and skipped away, vanishing into air, she would watch them from above, protecting them and others like herself and them.


End file.
